Console



Aug. 12,, 1969 R. K. MEYER 3,461,349

CONSOLE Filed Feb. 19, 1968 ;5 Shee'S-'Sheet 1 INVENTOR RONALD' K MEYER ATTORNEYS Aug. 12, R. K MEYER CONSOLE Filed Feb. 19, 1988 a shees-sheet 2 INVEN'TOR. RoNALD K MEYER v BY W MMI/'WW ATTO RN EYS Aug. 12, 1969 R. K. MEYER 3.461,349

CONSOLE Filed Feb. 19, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I I l 84 ;NVENTOR RONALD K. MEYER L4 4 BY Miu, W w' 2// ATTQ RN EYs United States Patent lO 3,461,349 CONSOLE Ronald K. Meyer, 171 Minna St., San Francisco, Calif. 94105 Filed Feb. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 706,524 lnt. Cl. H02b 1/10 U.S. Cl. 317-120 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A console holds a number of fixtures, such as receptacles, switches, oxygen outlets, and the like, which 1s made up of a U-shaped base member with a pair of end plates attached thereto, a pair of rails disposed along the base member, each fixture being adapted to be attached to the pair of rails, braces fixed from one rail to the other, the pair of rails being held relative to the base plate, a plurality of fixture plates each adapted to attach over a fixture to the pair of rails, and a front plate adapted to be held relative to the pair of rails, the fixtures being exposed through apertures in the fixture plates and front plate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a console, and most particularly to a console for use in a hospital room, which provides a number of various outlets for use in conjunction with hospital requirements.

In normal room construction, outlets such as electrical wall outlets are generally spaced about the room so that what is desired from the outlet may be obtained from various points about the room. It has been found that this manner of spacing such outlets is not adaptable for use in a hospital room; but, rather, it is advantageous to group all the outlets in a single area near the patienfs bed, so that either the patient or any of the hospital staff may make convenient use of them. A console which groups these outlets is, therefore, generally used in modern hospital rooms.

Naturally, it is desirable that a console which groups such outlets be simple in both construction and maintenance, attractively styled and easily mounted in a wall.

Furtherrnore, certain commercial outlets (such as Oxygen outlets) vary in dimensions from manufacturer to manufacturer, and it is highly desirable that a console be able to utilize any of the variously sized outlets without any substantial alterations thereto.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a console which groups outlets for convenient use in a hospital room.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a console which is simple in both construction and maintenance, and is attractively styled.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a console which may receive variously sized outlets without substantial alteration to the console itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Broadly stated, the console for holding a plurality of fixtures comprises a substantially U-shaped elongated base member having a back portion and upper and lower flange portions, and a pair of end plates fixed to -the base member. A pair of rails are disposed parallel to the the upper and lower flange portions, each fixture being adapted to attach to the pair of rails. Included are a pair of braces each joined to and interconnecting corresponding ends of the pair of rails. Means are included for holding the pair of rails relative to the base plate. Also included are a plurality of fixture plates each being adapted to attach over a fixture to the pair of rails and expose a 3,46l,349 Patented Aug. 1 2, 1969 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawngs forming a part of this invention and in which like parts are identified by like reference numerals throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the console set in a wall;

FIG. 2 is a view the same as FIG. l but with the console set in a different position in the wall;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the components of the console of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the console of FIGS. l-3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a console, generally designated' as 10, is shown. The console 10 is made up of a U-shaped base member 12 having a back portion 14 and upper and lower flange portions 16 and 18, respectively. A pair of end plates 20, 22 are fixed to the base member 12. A pair of rails 24, 26 are disposed parallel to the upper and lower flange portions 16 and 18 and are braced by braces 28, 30 which join to and interconnect the corresponding ends of the rails 24, 26. Rails 24, 26 are also braced by braces 32, 34, each joined to and interconnecting the rails 24, 26 intermediate the ends of each rail.

As best seen in FIG. 3, brace 28 and end plate 20 have surface portions 28A and 20A respectively which extend from the main bodies thereof and are parallel to each other. Similarly, brace 30 and end plate 22 have extended parallel surface portions 30A, 22A respectively. The surface portions 28A, 30A each have a pair of slots therein into which captive screws (not shown) are placed. These screws are adapted to be received by standoff nuts (not shown) fixed to the surface portions 20A, 22A. The rails 24, 26, along with braces 28, 30, 32, 34, are thus movable relative to the base member 12 by merely rotating the captive screws. A plurality of fixtures (such as receptacles 36, 38, light 40, telephone jack 42, switch 44) are included, each fixture being adapted to attach to the pair of rails 24, 26. A channel 46 is fixed to the upper rail 24 and holds the necessary wiring for the fixtures. These wires may be led in in either (A) an in-line manner or (B) a staggered manner.

Attached to the pair of rails 24, 26 over the receptacles 36, 38 are a pair of fixture plates 48, 50' which expose the receptacles 36, 38, respectively. Similarly, fixture plates 52, 54 and 56 are adapated to fit to rails 24, 26 and expose light 40, telephone jack 42, and switch 44. Fixture plates 58, 60 fit to rails 24, 26 and are adapted to receive arm brackets 62, 64, respectively. In this embodiment fixture plate 66 is shown as a blank, but, of course, it could be similar to any of the others disclosed. w

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, brackets 68, 70 are mounted to the back portion 14 of the U-shaped member 12 by means of captive screws. These brackets 68, 70 are adapted to have attached thereto any of a variety of oxygen-vacuum outlets supplied by manufacturers thereof, and face plates 72, 74 are adapted to fit thereover. The brackets 68, 70, being mounted by captive screws, are adjustable toward and away from the back portion 14, and thus the face plates 72, 74 are adjustable to be fiush with the fixture plates, allowing for variations in dimen- 3 sions of the oxygen-vacuum outlets. Fitted to the pair of rails 24, 26 is a nurse call face plate 76, which may be any one of avariety of manufactures.

In this embodment, the base member 12 is held to the wall by clips 78, 80, and the base member 12 and end plates 2,0, 22 are plastered into the wall. The depth of the base member 12 in the wall when this plastering takes place determines whether the console will protrude substantially from the wall (FIG. 1) or be relatively flush with the wall (FIG. 2). Light fixtures 79, 81 may be used in conjunction with the console 10, as shown in FIG. 1.

A cover formed by upper and lower plates 82, 84 and front plate 86 is adapted to fit over the plurality offi fixture plates and face plates and expose them. The front plate 86 is held relative to the rails 24, 26 by means of screws threaded to the pair of intermediate rail braces 32, 34 and a pair of small brackets 88, 90` fixed to the rail and braces 28, 30, respectively. End plates 92, 94, 96, 98 are fitted to the ends of the upper and lower plates 82, 84 and front plate 86. Decorative veneer strips 100i, 102 may be added to the front plate 86.

A Variation of this embodiment of the console is also shown in FIG. 3. The base member 12', rails 24', 26', channel 46', upper and lower plates 82', 84', and front plate 86 are shorter than those of the previous embodment and brackets 32, 34 are eliminated. This console iS for use when a lesser number of fixtures is desired.

It Will be seen that herein is provided a console which groups outlets for convenient use in a hospital room, the receptacles, nurse call, telephone jacks and the like being positioned together near a patienfs bed. The console is simple in both construction and maintenance and is attractively styled. Furthermore, the console is capable of receiving variously sized outlets by means of a simple adjustment.

Although a preferred embodiment of the inventon has been described and illustrated, various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventon, or the attached claims, and it is to be understood that such changes are contemplated.

I claim:

1. A console for holding a plurality of fixtures, comprising:

(a) a substantially U-shaped elongated base member 4 having a back portion and upper 'and' lower flange portions; 1 (b) a pair of end plates fixed to the base member; (c) a pair of rails disposed parallel to the upper and lower flange portions, each fixture being adapted to attach to the pair of rails;

(d) a pair of braces each joined to and interconnecting corresponding ends of the pair of rails;

(e) means for holding the pair of rails relative to the base plate;

(f) a plurality of fixture plates each being adapated to attach over a fixture to the pair of rails and expose a fiXture; and

(g) -a front plate adapated to be held relative to the pair of rails and expose the plurality of fixtures.

2. A console according to claim 1, wherein is included a pair of braces each joined to and interconnecting the rails intermediate the ends of each rail.

3. A console according to claim 2, wherein the pair of rails is adjustably held relative to the base plate.

4. A console according to claim 3, wherein the first plate is held relative to the pair of rails by means of screws threaded to the pair of rail end braces and the pair of intermediate braces.

5. A console according to clam 4, wherein is included at least one support mounted to the back portion of the base member and adjustable along a line toward and away from the back portions thereof.

6. A console according to claim 5, wherein the base member and end plates fixed thereto are plastered to the wall on which the consoleis to be mounted.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2998,508 8/1961 Bobrizk 240-2 3,2oo,244 8/1965 Meyer 24o 73 LEWIS H. MYERs, Primary Examiner GERALD P. TOLIN, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

